TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, Nov. 4.
Today’s highlight:
On Nov. 4, 1979, the Iran hostage crisis began as militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants; for some of them, it was the start of 444 days of captivity.
On this date:
In 1922, the entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt.
In 1942, during World War II, Axis forces retreated from El Alamein in North Africa in a major victory for British forces commanded by Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery.
In 1955, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young died in Newcomerstown, Ohio, at age 88.
In1 956, Soviet troops moved in to crush the Hungarian Revolution.
In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan won the White House as he defeated President Jimmy Carter by a strong margin.
In 1985, to the shock and dismay of U.S. officials, Soviet defector Vitaly Yurchenko announced he was returning to the Soviet Union, charging he had been kidnapped by the CIA.
In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, California; attending were President George H.W. Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald R. Ford and Richard Nixon — the firstever gathering of five past and present U.S. chief executives.
In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Israeli minutes after attending a festive peace rally.
In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama was elected the first Black president of the United States, defeating Republican John McCain. California voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, overturning a state Supreme Court decision that gave gay couples the right to wed just months earlier.
In 2014, riding a powerful wave of voter discontent, resurgent Republicans captured control of the Senate and tightened their grip on the House.
Ten years ago: A Syrian peace plan brokered just days earlier by the Arab League unraveled as security forces opened fire on thousands of protesters, killing at least 15. “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney, 92, died in New York a month after his farewell segment on the show.
Five years ago: A federal jury found that Rolling Stone magazine, its publisher and a reporter had defamed a University of Virginia administrator in a debunked 2014 story about a gang rape at a fraternity house. (The magazine and the administrator, Nicole Eramo, later reached a confidential settlement.) A jury convicted two former aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of causing traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge for political revenge against a Democratic mayor. (A unanimous Supreme Court tossed out the convictions in 2020.)
One year ago: A day after the presidential election, victories in Michigan and Wisconsin left Joe Biden one battleground state short of winning the White House.